In Oct. 2010, The Sentinel-News published my letter entitled “GOP Surges Past 10,000.” To summarize, I provided a brief history of the demographics of both population and voter registration of Shelby County since 1982.

I also predicted “it’s not unreasonable to envision the two parties flipping before the end of this decade.” That flip from Democrat to Republican majority in Shelby County will occur in 2018.

While shoppers have been scouring Main Street and the outlet mall for the perfect gifts, Shelby County has been scrambling to close the year with a boom.

Just this month we’ll have discussion of a new proposed distillery along Interstate 64 in Waddy, the Shelby County Board of Education is looking into the purchase of the Jefferson Community and Technical Shelby Campus, and Main Street in Shelbyville is bursting with new opportunities.

Battling illness and injury bugs over the past two games has taken a toll on Collins girls’ basketball, as the Titans fell to North Bullitt on Thursday night and Walton-Verona in its home opener on Monday.

Walton-Verona 46, Collins 37

Without one of its top scorers in Trinity Warfield (12.4 points per game), the Titans struggled to make shots in a nine-point defeat at the hands of the Bearcats.

The Shelby County girls’ basketball team’s rough start to the season continued over the weekend, in a pair of losses to Anderson County at home on Thursday and at South Oldham on Saturday.

South Oldham 62, Shelby County 39

With one player out with injury in point guard Macie Gowin and center Kaitlyn Disch on limited duty with an illness; the Rockets struggled to close over the final two quarters against the Dragons on Saturday.

While it took four full quarters of action for Shelby County boys’ basketball to secure its first three-pointer of the game on Tuesday night against Kentucky Country Day, Rockets senior guard Kyion Stone came through with the shot from behind the arc when it mattered.

With five seconds remaining in a 47-all game and the ball in the Rockets’ possession, the Wildcats signaled for a timeout to set up its defense.

In the process, the short break gave SCHS (2-4) time to formulate a simple but effective strategy.